Hello,
A lot of people believe that they are born gay, and that the Church discriminates against them for living a lifestyle that they have no choice in.
How true is that? and what does the Church or our clergy have to say to someone who feels this way?
Thanks
Comments
a friend was telling me that one of her teachers was homosexual because, way back when, when she lived with her boyfriend , they had a fight, and then she decided to be that way... so i guess some people do it becasue they think it is easier, and becasue , i would say, the devil helps them (becasue it is quite a major sin)....
Hello friends,
This is a big issue now in our days. We cannot ignore it b/c it is happening almost in all countries and now it is been publicly done.
One thing for sure is God Never creates gay people or anything evil. God is good.
We created the evil lust in our flesh. We r responsible also for killing what we have planted.
An Evil is like a hole(it does not have existence by itself). It is just an absence of that material. When we r deprived of God's good nature we corrupt ourselves even to be less than beasts. We are created in God's image but we have destroyed that pure image of God by our sins. The flesh is always contrary to God's laws.
This homosexuality is the sin of the flesh. The devil urges and waters what we have planted. We cannot destroy all the evil lust that arises from our flesh lest we fast and purify our soul by the word of God, prayer, partaking Holy Communion.
This society we r living now is far away from God to even listen to its inner conscience. Darkness is the absence of light, as cold is the absence of heat. We have no good nature by ourselves but given from God. That good gift we have destroyed it and remained evil. We r workshops of the devil. He stores all his lies, illusions, fears, doubts. We hear the voice of the devil in this world these days more than the True word of God.
The biginning of wisdom is the fear of God. Without wisdom how can one see his corruption? without wisdom who will admit his own fault without pointing his finger towards the perfect creator without blemish?
So no wonder we turn to be abominable both to ourselves and to our creator. Now the devil is lying as always, saying, we r created like this.
All I want to say is
1. Be very sure that God has created us so perfect.
Psalm 139 (King James Version)
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
May God restore our purity and our human perfection. Let Him give us back His beautiful image we have defiled. May we be creatures for the glory of God but not for shame. May God rebuke all the evil spirits that roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
May God be with us with His holiest mother, His angels, His saints in mercy and love.
As i have said before, it is like saying you are born liking chocolate. You are not! You have to TRY the chocolate First at soem time of your life and tehn CONCLUDE that you like it!! It is just an expression peopel use....Hope i made a little sense?? sorry for the confusion.
+mahraeel+
Homosexuality is a choice in life. You choose to be silly, lazy, or smart. You also choose whether or not you want to be gay. Yes, it may come because of bad experience or something. However, YOU ARE NOT BORN GAY. Never! I mean if God says Homosexuality is a sin, then why would the creator of all beings create you GAY? I mean does it make sense?
As i have said before, it is like saying you are born liking chocolate. You are not! You have to TRY the chocolate First at soem time of your life and tehn CONCLUDE that you like it!! It is just an expression peopel use....Hope i made a little sense?? sorry for the confusion.
+mahraeel+
Mahraeel,
The entire problem is that those who are proponents of Gay Marriages argue that they have no choice, that they are born that way.
+mahraeel+
PS remember a physical relationship with someone of the opposite sex outside of marriage is also wrong!
I believe that some people are prone to sin naturally but not everyone is prone to sin in the same way naturally we are born sinners whether or not we are born gay , a mass murder or a petty theeff is merely speculative I see no evidence for either case
my personal opinion on this is that people are not born gay and I do not blaim circumstances upbringing the like. I believe in Gods divine will
sin is sin and the church does not let people live in there sin the church is a place for people to get in a right relationship with God which ultimately brings them into submission to the will of God and a healthy life. I say healthy b/c when you sin I believe you are killing yourself I belive that God created us to be united with him sin brings dysfunction to our calling to be with God and enjoy him forever. And so thats why I say sin is essentially killing yourself. I also say a more healthy life b/c homosexuals do not live a healthy life they are infected with all kinds of STDs (the pc term is STI sexually transmitted infections) personaly I read in the book of Leviticus that God will punish those who sin and he lists boils and so on and so forth and I cant help but put two and two together.
NESS<><
http://tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/ordofwom/index.html
Here is some reference that I compiled in reference to this issue:
A Christian Perspective on Homosexuality
Homosexuality By David Labib
October 7, 2005, St. Mark’s Youth Meeting
I. Introduction – We are all called to live a life of holiness.
a. Be holy, for I am holy.
i. “As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:14-16).
b. Walk in the Spirit
i. “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:16-18).
ii. HH says a holy person has two characteristics: 1) his flesh is guided by his human spirit, and 2) his human spirit is led by the Holy Spirit.
c. You are the sons of God
i. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom. 8:13).
d. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit
i. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Cor. 6: 18-20)
e. Homosexuality is contrary to this life of holiness!
i. Homosexuality is a lust of the flesh
ii. Homosexuality is a grave sin
iii. Homosexuality has no part in the Kingdom of Heaven
iv. Homosexuality is contrary to nature
v. Homosexuality is not genetic
vi. Homosexuality has serious health consequences
vii. Homosexuality is vanity
viii. Homosexuality requires repentance
II. Homosexuality is a lust of the flesh
a. The bible calls homosexuality “lust”
i. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Rom. 1:26-27)
ii. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. (Rom. 1:24)
b. The term “homosexuality” itself connotes a sexual act of lust
i. Dictionary Definition: “of, relating to, or having a sexual orientation to persons of the same sex.” Usage Note: “Many people now avoid using homosexual because of the emphasis this term places on sexuality. Indeed, the words gay and lesbian, which stress cultural and social matters over sex, are frequently better choices.” (Dictionary.com)
c. The people of Sodom wanted to know the angels carnally!
i. Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” (Gen. 19:4-5)
d. Homosexuality is not love!
i. Love is spiritual and pure. We should not love others more than we love God.
ii. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:26
iii. God is love! “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:17).
iv. If God is love, we cannot say that “homosexuality” is love.
e. Do you think that homosexuals really love their partners or are they just in sexual and lustful relationships?
i. One study reports that the average homosexual has between 20 and 106 partners per year. The average heterosexual has 8 partners in a lifetime.
ii. One study reports that 43% of homosexuals admit to 500 or more partners in a lifetime, 28% admit to 1000 or more in a lifetime, and of these people, 79% say that half of those partners are total strangers, and 70% of those sexual contacts are one night stands (or, as one homosexual admits in the film "The Castro", one minute stands). Also, it is a favorite past-time of many homosexuals to go to "cruisy areas" and have anonymous sex.
iii. 41% of homosexuals say they have had sex with strangers in public restrooms, 60% say they have had sex with strangers in bathhouses, and 64% of these encounters have involved the use of illegal drugs.
III. Homosexuality is a Grave Sin
a. “And the LORD said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave’” (Gen. 18:21).
b. “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination” (Lev. 18:22). “Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled” (Lev. 18:24).
c. “Abomination” means “Abhorrence; disgust.” (dictionary.com).
d. “The law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites” (1Tim. 1:9-10).
e. The wages of sin is death
i. “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death” (Lev. 20:13).
ii. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1Cor. 3:16-17).
iii. “Those who practice such things [sexual immorality] are deserving of death” (Rom. 1:32).
f. Do you think that homosexuality is associated with any other sins?
i. Many homosexual sexual encounters occur while drunk, high on drugs, or in an orgy setting
ii. Judge John Martaugh, chief magistrate of the New York City Criminal Court has said, "Homosexuals account for half the murders in large cities"
iii. Captain William Riddle of the Los Angeles Police says, "30,000 sexually abused children in Los Angeles were victims of homosexuals"
iv. 50% of suicides can be attributed to homosexuals
v. Homosexuals are 100 times more likely to be murdered (usually by another homosexual) than the average person, 25 times more likely to commit suicide, and 19 times more likely to die in a traffic accident.
vi. 21% of lesbians die of murder, suicide or traffic accident, which is at a rate of 534 times higher than the number of white heterosexual females aged 25-44 who die of these things.
vii. 50% of the calls to a hotline to report "queer bashing" involved domestic violence (i.e., homosexuals beating up other homosexuals).
viii. About 50% of the women on death row are lesbians
ix. Homosexuals commit more than 33% of all reported child molestations in the United States, which, assuming homosexuals make up 2% of the population, means that 1 in 20 homosexuals is a child molester, while 1 in 490 heterosexuals is a child molester.
IV. Homosexuality has no part in the Kingdom of Heaven
a. “God gave them over to a debased mind … being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, … they are … inventors of evil things, … that those who practice such things are deserving of death” (Rom. 1:28-32).
b. “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Rev. 21:27).
c. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1Cor. 6:9).
d. “As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 1:7).
V. Homosexuality is Contrary to Nature
a. Sexual relations were only permitted in marriage between a man and a woman
i. “He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’” (Matt. 19:4-6).
ii. “For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due” (Rom. 1:26-27).
iii. Jude 1:7 says that they gave “themselves over to sexual immorality and [had] gone after strange flesh.”
b. Since some animals exhibit “homosexual” activity, why is it not natural for humans to also be homosexual?
i. There is no "homosexual instinct" in animals. Animal "homosexuality," "filicide" and "cannibalism" are exceptions to normal animal behavior. Consequently, they cannot be called animal instincts.
ii. If seemingly "homosexual" acts among animals are in accordance with animal nature, then parental killing of offspring and intra-species devouring are also in accordance with animal nature. Bringing man into the equation complicates things further. Are we to conclude that filicide and cannibalism are according to human nature?
iii. In 1996, homosexual scientist Simon LeVay admitted that the evidence pointed to isolated acts, not to homosexuality: “Although homosexual behavior is very common in the animal world, it seems to be very uncommon that individual animals have a long-lasting predisposition to engage in such behavior to the exclusion of heterosexual activities. Thus, a homosexual orientation, if one can speak of such thing in animals, seems to be a rarity.”
iv. It Is Unscientific To "Read" Human Motivation And Sentiment Into Animal Behavior
v. Irrational Animal Behavior Is No Blueprint For Rational Man
VI. Homosexuality is not genetic!
a. Scientific attempts to demonstrate that homosexual attraction is biologically determined have failed. The major researchers have arrived at such conclusions.
i. Dr. Kenneth Zucker, in his careful analysis of the innate/immutable argument of homosexuality, rostered a plethora of studies to support his conclusion that "sexual orientation is more fluid than fixed" (2003, pp. 399-400).
ii. Friedman and Downey, the psychiatric researchers at Columbia University, offered a strongly worded conclusion opposing the essentialist argument: The assertion that homosexuality is genetic is so reductionistic that it must be dismissed out of hand as a general principle of psychology" (2002, p 39).
b. Even the gay-activist researchers themselves who studies have been used by the media to trumpet the message that homosexuality is biologically determined do not support the "born that way" myth.
i. Simon LeVay, the gay activist researcher, the author of the hypothalamus study, noted, "It's important to stress what I didn't find. I did not prove that homosexuality was genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn't show that gay men were born that way, the most common mistake people make in interpreting my work" (Nimmons, 1994, p. 64).
ii. Dean Hamer, a gay researcher, the author of the "gay gene" study, agreed: "We knew that genes were only part of the answer. We assumed the environment also played a role in sexual orientation, as it does in most, if not all behaviors... (Hamer and Copeland, 1994, p. 82). Hamer further emphasizes, "Homosexuality is not purely genetic...environmental factors play a role.”
c. A third study, which was conducted by researchers J.M. Bailey and Richard C. Pillard, focused on twins.
i. They found a concordance rate of 52 percent among identical twins, 22 percent among non-identical twins and a 9.2 percent among non-twins. This study provides support for environmental factors. If homosexuality were in the genetic code, all of the identical twins would have been homosexual.
d. Even if one was born a homosexual, HH Pope Shenouda says the following:
i. “We need to heal him, purge him, correct him, pray for him, guide him to repentance, and heal him medically and spiritually. But we should not say to him ‘Alright, we accept you as a member of the Church and give you the Body and Blood of our Lord’ when he remains in such abomination.”
ii. Many saints were fornicators and they were corrected.
VII. Homosexuality Has Clear Health Consequences
a. Homosexuals account for 3-4% of all gonorrhea cases, 60% of all syphilis cases, and 17% of all hospital admissions (other than for STDs) in the United States. They make up only 1-2% of the population.
b. Homosexuals live unhealthy lifestyles, and have historically accounted for the bulk of syphilis, gonorrhea, Hepatitis B, the "gay bowel syndrome" tuberculosis and cytomegalovirus.
c. 25-33% of homosexuals and lesbians are alcoholics.
d. 78% of homosexuals are affected by STDs
e. It takes approximately $300,000 to take care of each AIDS victim, so thanks to the promiscuous lifestyle of homosexuals, medical insurance rates have been skyrocketing for all of us.
f. Homosexuals account for well over 50% of the AIDS cases in the United States, which is quite a large number considering that they account for only 1-2% of the population.
g. Depending on the city, 39-59% of homosexuals are infected with intestinal parasites like worms, flukes and amoebae, which is common in filthy third world countries
h. The median age of death of homosexuals is 42 (only 9% live past age 65). This drops to 39 if the cause of death is AIDS. The median age of death of a married heterosexual man is 75
i. The median age of death of lesbians is 45 (only 24% live past age 65). The median age of death of a married heterosexual woman is 79.
VIII. Homosexuality is Vanity
a. Solomon said “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure … Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done … And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.
b. Do you think homosexuals are happy?
i. 73% of psychiatrists say homosexuals are less happy than the average person, and of those psychiatrists, 70% say that the unhappiness is NOT due to social stigmatization
ii. Dr. Daniel Capron, a practicing psychiatrist, says, "Homosexuality by definition is not healthy and wholesome. The homosexual person, at best, will be unhappier and more unfulfilled than the sexually normal person"
IX. Homosexuality requires repentance
a. First, they must identify that homosexuality is sin
b. Second, they must abstain from the action of sin
c. Third, they must change their minds and their desires: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:1).
X. What is our role?
a. We should guide them to repentance.
b. No one has the authority to preach anything contrary to the law of God. St. Paul says, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8).
c. Do not seek to please men. “For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). Why benefit is it if I please men and leave them to perish?
d. If you love His people, you will lead them to repentance.
XI. Conclusion
a. Homosexuality is a lust of the flesh
b. Homosexuality is a grave sin
c. Homosexuality has no part in the Kingdom of Heaven
d. Homosexuality is contrary to nature
e. Homosexuality is not genetic
f. Homosexuality has serious health consequences
g. Homosexuality is vanity
h. Homosexuality requires repentance
Key online sites that are helpful:
• This site has many scientific and political articles: http://www.narth.com/menus/born.html
• This site has some great statistics with references: http://www.inoohr.org/homosexualstatistics.htm
• This site has an article of homosexuality and genetics: http://dunamai.com/articles/Christian/is_homosexuality_genetic.htm
• This site has an article about the animal myth and homosexuality: http://www.narth.com/docs/animalmyth.html
Taken from: http://classes.saintmark.com/mod/resource/view.php?id=27
Old Testament
1) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:27-28
2) And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:23-24
3) Genesis 19- Sodom Gomorrah- God destroyed the city because of their wickedness- and homosexuality.
Genesis 19: 1-5
Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”
And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.”
But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.”
carnal adj.
1. Relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites: carnal desire.
2. Worldly or earthly; temporal: the carnal world.
3. Of or relating to the body or flesh; bodily: carnal remains.
4) Deut. 23:17
“There shall be no ritual harlot of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one of the sons of Israel.
5) Leviticus 18:22-23
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.
6) Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
7) Judges 19:22
As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!”
New Testament
8) Romans 1:24-32
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,[a] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,[b] unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
9) Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
10) 1 Timothy 1:9-10
knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,
11) Matthew 19:4-5
And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made[a]them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’[b] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?
12) Jude 1:7
as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Other points:
-clearly we see in the Bible homosexuality is not accepted by God, and is an abomination and sin and unholy.
- God created them male and female, God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.
- not even animals live in a homosexual way.
- society is like a kettle and a frog. The frog is in room temp. water and is happy, and they keep increasing the temp. little by little, and the frog quickly adapts, and after a while, the frog will find itself in boiling water and will lose its life, so are we in society.
Taken from HOMOSEXUALITY AND ORDINATION OF WOMEN
BY His Holiness POPE SHENOUDA III
The following are some of the questions asked by members of the congregation and the answers given by His Holiness:
Question 3
How can we bring healing to people of homosexual tendency who wish to be healed of that tendency and to walk the way of holiness? How may we help them?
The first point on which I spoke was that the Church cannot say that their wrong way is acceptable, this is against the essence of the teachings the Bible. We cannot pass their acts as acceptable behaviour, and excuse them for supposedly being born that way.
Sin is sin, whatever the reasons are. In order to help them, firstly say to them: "This is a sin. This is an abomination", and then let them enjoy the spiritual life. A person who tastes the sweetness of spiritual life may leave such a way of abomination. Because people are always occupied with worldly matters, they do not give time for prayer, for contemplation, for spiritual songs, for reading the Bible, for reading spiritual books, so their spirits become very weak, and such weak spirits cannot resist temptation. If we try to strengthen their spirits, to let them practice spiritual ways, as I said, they get better. Also, we must pray for them, fast for them, celebrate Holy Masses for them; we must try to help them by using all spiritual means. If there is a situation that requires medical treatment, then let them try it. But, whatever the circumstances, we cannot justify their sins. It is not within our authority as clergymen or pastors.
Question 7
If a homosexual goes to the church and repents and abstains from homosexual activity, how is he viewed in the eyes of God if desires about men remain?
I want to say that sometimes repentance may take steps. The first step of repentance is to abstain from the action of sin. Sometimes the person abstains from the action of sin and at the same time still has the desire. He is now clean in flesh but not clean in spirit.
The second step is to change his mind and change his desires. In the Epistle to the Romans, chapter 12, the Apostle says: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12: 1). A person may have another concept, another idea, and another way of thinking about the world. He does not look at sin as pleasure but as defilement. He may change his mind, and in changing his mind he may change his desires also. It may take steps. The first step of repentance is to leave sin, not to do it. But the perfection of repentance is to hate sin, and sin will not be suitable for the person's new nature in our Lord Jesus Christ. Our great teacher Saint John the Apostle said that the son of God cannot sin: cannot, because he is the son of God. His nature has changed. This is the renewal of life. As pastors,
our work is to guide people toward the renewal of their life, to stress on a new point, to give them practice in spiritual life. Day by day they find spiritual life not only acceptable but also favorable and they find their pleasure in God, their pleasure in spiritual life.
For more information about homosexuality read "Homosexuality" By H.H. Pope Shenouda III at this website http://www.coptnet.com/Pope-Books/ordofwom/index.htm
+mahraeel+
However, YOU ARE NOT BORN GAY. Never! I mean if God says Homosexuality is a sin, then why would the creator of all beings create you GAY? I mean does it make sense?
That's interesting, because I thought that sado-masochists (ppl who get sexual pleasure from inflicting pain on others) and pedophiles are born with an inclination to those kinds of evils. Is that true? Of course that wouldn't make them right, its just another cross that person would have to bear.
But it does open up the possibility that homosexuality is just another one of these disorders, an ilness if you will. Even though I've never heard of any hard scientific evidence for homosexuality being inherent.
What do you all think?
[quote author=mahraeel link=topic=7272.msg96421#msg96421 date=1225160767]
However, YOU ARE NOT BORN GAY. Never! I mean if God says Homosexuality is a sin, then why would the creator of all beings create you GAY? I mean does it make sense?
That's interesting, because I thought that sado-masochists (ppl who get sexual pleasure from inflicting pain on others) and pedophiles are born with an inclination to those kinds of evils. Is that true? Of course that wouldn't make them right, its just another cross that person would have to bear.
But it does open up the possibility that homosexuality is just another one of these disorders, an ilness if you will. Even though I've never heard of any hard scientific evidence for homosexuality being inherent.
What do you all think?
Well, doesnt God allow certain people to get an illness? I dont think he would make homosexuality an illness. ilnness are not sins. However..homosexuality is...correct me if i am wrong=)
+mahraeel+